Qualcomm VR review: Hands-on with the Qualcomm virtual-reality headset that has potential to enhance the VR market, by Lewis Painter

First introduced at IFA 2016 in Berlin, Qualcomm VR offers something slightly different from both mobile-powered VR headsets and high-end PC-powered VR headsets too. What might that be? The headset features all the tech it needs to run within the headset, negating the need for a phone or PC. It’s not the only impressive feature of Qualcomm VR either, as we learnt when we went hands-on with the VR headset at IFA 2016.

Before we go any further, let’s discuss when we’re likely to see Qualcomm VR hit the market. While the headset has been announced at IFA 2016, it’s still in prototype stage and as such, we shouldn’t expect it to hit the market anytime soon. Although with that being said, we spoke to Qualcomm at the event and a representative told us that we could possibly see a CES 2017 reveal, but we shouldn’t hold our breath.
What about pricing? It’s a similar story, as it’d be pretty silly to price a headset that’s still in prototype stage, although we’ve been told that it’d cost more than Samsung’s Gear VR (minus the cost of the smartphone of course!) but cheaper than the £550 Oculus Rift.